I knew I was going to love Michigan when I saw the familiar yellow sign with a bicycle on it—the first of the trip, I think, or at least since Washington state. What’s more, highway 2 along the upper peninsula is actually an official bike route!
I can’t say I immediately noticed a change in the traffic’s attitude to me, but that is because 99% of the drivers I have encountered have been respectful and given me as much room as possible, and about 95% of the roads I have been on have had a decent and/or amazing shoulder.
Still it was comforting to know I was on a bicycle route, and as I reached Little Bay de Noc, and got my first glimpse of Lake Michigan, I also encountered a bike path that I enjoyed for several kms. Of course it did not last long, and I was soon back on the highway, but the shoulder was so generous that I kept a good distance from the steady traffic.
It was beautiful riding through Hiawatha National Forest, with the sun shining brightly, and then, in late afternoon, it was fascinating to ride into the fog that had descended over the lake. When I stopped just outside of Manistique, the beach was quite ghostly, and I felt as if the day had been turned upside down, and it was suddenly early morning.
I could feel a chill creeping in, and with a few
more miles still to go, and groceries to buy (goodness, that feels like a prosaic rendering of Frost’s famous lines in Stopping By the Woods), I got back on my bike. Seeing that my hotel was on the eastern side of town, I stopped for groceries first, and I’m glad I did, as once I got into the hotel, I had no desire to go back out into the darkening day. Instead, I got some laundry done, and if that doesn’t seem like a joyous task, try travelling for a month with three days worth of clothes, as I know some of you have done, and you will appreciate the joy of clean clothing.
But for a faint musty smell, my room was splendid enough, and I had real penne pasta from the deli, with red wine of course, followed by gelato, so it was a pretty swell evening.
Today I am heading into a slight headwind, but am aiming for St. Ignace, where I will arrange to get a ride across the Mackinaw Bridge as bicyclists are not allowed on the bridge. Interestingly, you can also arrange to have the bridge authorities drive your car across if you are not comfortable doing so.
On a final note, I was tempted to title this post, Take The High Road, based on a billboard I saw advertising a cannabis store, but I just couldn’t tie it in thematically, although now that I think of it, I guess the highway on the upper peninsula is a high road of sorts. I just hope no drivers opt for the high road.